Veto Power of the President: A bill passed by the Parliament can become an act only if it
receives the assent of the President. When such a bill is presented to the President for his assent,
he has three alternatives (under Article 111 of the Constitution):
1. He may give his assent to the bill, or
2. He may withhold his assent to the bill, or
3. He may return the bill (if it is not a Money bill) for reconsideration of the Parliament.
However, if the bill is passed again by the Parliament with or without amendments and
again presented to the President, the President must give his assent to the bill.
Thus, the President has the veto power over the bills passed by the Parliament10, that is, he
can withhold his assent to the bills. The object of conferring this power on the President is two-
fold—(a) to prevent hasty and ill-considered legislation by the Parliament; and (b) to prevent
legislation which may be unconstitutional.
The veto power enjoyed by the executive in modern states can be classified into the
following four types:
a. Absolute veto that is, withholding of assent to the bill passed by the legislature
b. Qualified veto, which can be overridden by the legislature with a higher majority
c. Suspense veto, which can be over ridden by the legislature with an ordinary majority
d. Pocket veto that is, taking no action on the bill passed by the legislature of the above
four, the President of India is vested with three—absolute veto, suspense veto and
pocket veto. There is no qualified veto in the case of Indian President; it is possessed
by the American President.
The President appoint the following High Dignitaries, Committees and Commissions of the
Union government.
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